WEST COUNTY TIMES

Friday, July 5, 1996
Section: Opinion
Page: A13
Column: Readers' Forum

Point Molate, the "gem" by the Bay, has been getting a lot of attention lately.

It seems our local man behind City Hall has his finger in the Point Molate consultant "pie" that soured the selection process and put the city of Richmond at odds with the federal government.

I am pleased that Councilman Tom Butt sounded the alarm to alert residents and voters that the old Richmond political machine was in motion, smashing people's democracy.

As a member of the Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee and environmental sub-committee member, I sincerely hope the Point Molate Project doesn't get destroyed or fail to manifest its full potential for environmental restoration.

Point Molate can be a classic example of a "brownfield" project, a masterpiece of economic development; an environmentally sensitive project that creates a cleaner, greener, safer Point Molate in which to live, work and play.

The West County Toxics Coalition views Point Molate as a model project for creating a principled working relationship between diverse interests that can blaze forward with new environmental and social ethics here in the city of Richmond.

The people of Richmond must not let backroom politics and deal making destroy the Point Molate project.

Henry Clark

Richmond

Clark is the executive director of West County Toxics Coalition.